Ironing-machine.



B. L. HUBBELL.

IRONING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 21, m5.

1,183,732. Patented May16,1 916.

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IRONING MACHINE.

APPLICATIONFILED OCT. 21. 1915.

l ,1 83,732. Patented May 16, 1916.

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IRONING MACHINE.

APPLICATION. EILED OCT. 21. 1915.

1,183,732. I Patented May 16; 1916.

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'"lB COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CD.,' WASHINGTON, D. cv

BERT L. HUBIBELL, or KELSO, WASHINGTON.

IRONING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1916.

Application filed October 21, 1915. Serial N 0. 57,087.

To aZZw/wm it may concern: I 1

Be it known that I, BERT L. HUBBELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kelso, in the county of Cowlitz and State of lVashington, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Ironing-Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in ironing machines having a simultaneously reciprocatory iron and ironing board,the

.former being automatically movable to and fro across said board, while the latter is manually movable'in a plane at right angles to the plane of that of the iron.

An additional advantage of my invention is the improved means for elevating the iron above the ironing board.

Another object of theinvention resides in the improved means for automatically operating the reverse gear which is used for re ciprocating the iron.

A further object is the provision of a manually operable device for changing the direction of movement of the iron.

\Vith the above and many other objects in view, my invention resides in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts which will hereinafter be more particularly described and claimed and shown in the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my improved ironing machine; Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is a central vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. l is a horizontal section taken on the line of Fig. 1; Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are respectively vertical transverse sections taken on the lines 5-5, 6 6, 77 and 8-8 of Fig. 1.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my invention with a considerable degree of exactness but it is evident that various changes may be made for carrying out the objects of the invention.

In the drawings 1 indicates a table having end members 2 which form the legs supporting the top 3, the central portion of which is recessed as shown at 4 to receive a slidable top 5 which is the ironing board of my device. This slidable member erably covered with felt or other soft ma- 5 is prefterial as is common acter. v

The legs 2 are provided on their inner faces with spaced apart guide rollers 6 be-' tween which vertically movable slides 7 are disposed. The upper portions of said slides project above the top 3 and are bifurcated as shown at 8, a guide pulley 9 being disposed between the furcations of each of these slides. Additional pulleys 10' are disposed 1loialow the first mentioned pulley and rotata- 3 slides. The furcations 7 of the bifurcated ends of the slides also support a pair of spaced apart rods 12 whichform a track for a slidable iron 13 here shown as double pointed and of the electric variety. The iron 13 is provided with a .pair of spaced apart apertures through which the rods 12 extend.

The pointed ends of. theiron 13 are provided with eyes 14 to which are attached the ends of a flexible cable '15 adapted to extend around the .pairs of guide rollers 9 and 10 rotatably carried by the slide 7. Theintermediate portions of the cable 15 are wound one or'more times around a drum 16 which is keyedto a shaft 17. supported by the depending brackets-18 secured to the lower side of the table top 3. From this description it will be seen that rotation of the drum 16 in one direction will cause the iron to move across the ironing board of the table, and that when said drum is rotated in the opposite direction, the direction of movement of the'iron will also be changed.

For rotating the drum I provide any suit ablereverse'gear mechanism, that preferably employed being now about to be described. r

A gear 19, preferablya bevel spur gear, is keyed to the shaft 17"adjacent one'end of the drum l6, and is adapted to intermesh with either one of the gears 20 and 20 which are secured to a. sleeve 21 slidably keyed'to the driven shaft22. One end of this shaft 22 is supported in abracket 23which depends from the table top '3, while the opposite end is extended through one'of the legs 2 where it is provided with a suitable pulley 24 which may be rotated by'means of a belt 25 or other. preferred means. The ends of the sleeve 21v are each provided with annular grooves 26 and 26 with which the forks i of "gear shifting mechanisms are adapted to :coact. i I

in devices of this charmounted in openings 11 formed in said 4 In my machine I an additional gear s ifting device which is adapted to be operated manually by the user of the'machine. The automatic mechanism 1S operable by movement of the iron 13 and consists of a pair of bifurcated trip.

levers 27 and 28 which are pivoted intermediate their ends as shown at .29, beneath the table top, the bifurcated portions thereof being extended through openings 30 formed in said table top and adapted to project'above said top as best disclosed in Fig. 3. The lowerends of said trip levers are pivotally connected tothe ends of connecting rods 31 whose free ends are similarly connected to the horizontal operating arm v32 of the gear shifting fork 38 which coacts with said annular groove 26. The upper portions of said levers 27 and 28 receivethe cable between their bifurcated ends as shown in several figures, the cables carrying a pair of adjustable stop members 34 here shown as secured to the cable by means of set screws 35. These stops 34 .are adapted to trip the levers 27 and 28. to reverse. the direction of rotation of the drum, and therefore the direction .of movement of the iron 13. In Figs. '1 to 4, one of the stops 34 is shown .as having just actuated the trip 27 thereby throwing the gear into mesh with the gear 19 and causing the drum to rotate in a direction to move the iron toward the right as shown by the arrow in Fig. 2. Then the iron is continued toward the right until the stop 34 trips the lever 28, which operation will disengage the gear 20 from the gear 19 and throw the gear 20 into operation with said gear 19, thus reversing the direction of rotation of the drum and causing the iron to be moved toward the left. It is evident that the length of the stroke of the iron may be varied by movement of the adjustable stops on the cable. The farther said stops are placed from the iron the shorter the stroke thereof, while the closer the stops areplaced thereto, the longer the movement of the iron will continue in one direction.

The manually operable mechanism for shifting the reverse gears comprises an upright rod 86 pivoted intermediate its ends as shown at 37 to a depending arm 38 formed on said bracket 25, the lower end of said rod 36 being loosely engaged with one end of a laterally shiftable foot pedal 39 having toe clips 40 thereon to engage the shoe of the operator of'the machine, who, duringthe operation of the device, is seated before the table. The foot pedal 39 is loosely mounted on a longitudinally extending shaft 41 whose ends are held in the legs 2 of the table. The-upper endof the rod 36 is forked as shown at 42, said forked end being adapted to engage the annular groove P d a uto a ii cally' operable gear shifting mechanism and nism may be used irrespective of the automatic mechanism heretofore described, and

the direction of movement of the reciprocatory iron changed at any time regardless of the position ofthestops v34.

Sometimes it becomes necessary to pro vide means for holdingv either one of the movable gears in mesh with the gear 19 to prevent accidental disengagement. The mechanism preferably employed consists of a pair of spaced apart depending brackets .43 which are secured to the under sideof the table top and are adapted to slidably receive a notched bar 44, one of whose ends is integrally connected to the horizontal arm 32 heretofore described. The notches in the upper side of said bar 44 are preferably two in number, and have for coaetion therewith a spring pressed detent 45, one end of which is attached to one of the brackets 43. The detent 45 is adapted to coact with either one of said notches, depending upon the gear which is in mesh with the gear 19. This arrangement reliably holds the gears in mesh at all times, while permitting the shifting of said movable gears.

The iron 18 normally rests on the ironing board 5 but the same may be moved above said table by the upward movement of its track which is carried by the slides 7. The lower end of each of the slides 7 has pivotally connected therewith a connecting rod 46, the lower ends of which are similarly; connected to cranks '47 keyed or otherwise fixed to the aforementioned shaft 41. A foot pedal 48 is fixed to this shaft 41 in such position that when its outer end is depressed, the movement will be imparted to the connecting rods 46 thereby raising the slides 7 and causing the iron 13 to be elevated above the top of the table. This arrangement permits the articles to be pressed to be readily inserted between the iron and the ironing board.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that while the iron is moving to and fro the length of the table, the articles which are being pressed may be moved in the path of the iron by moving the ironing board by means of its handles 49 in either direction transversely of the table top. This simultaneous movement of the iron and the ironing board permits the articles on said board to be pressed in a very short space of time thereby allowing the operator to perform a great deal more work than could be performed by any other machine heretofore in v a pair of parallel rods of said Having thus described the construction and operation of my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. In a device prising a table,

of the class described comupright end members, a track comprising a pair of spaced apart parallel rods having their opposite ends secured to said end members, an iron having a pair of parallel openings therethrough to receive said rods, and means for reciprocating said iron on said rods.

2. In a device of the class described comprising a table, a top therefor, a pair of vertically movable slides in the form of fiat plates slidable against the table legs, the upper ends of said plates being bifurcated,

having their ends secured in the furcations of the plates and movable therewith, an iron having a pair of parallel openings therethrough to receive said rods, said iron normally resting on said table top, means for simultaneously raising said slides, and means for reciprocating said 1I'0I1.

3. In a device of the class described comprising a table, a drum, a track, an iron mounted on said track, guides adjacent the ends of said table, a flexible cable having its intermediate portion wound around said drum, the ends being passed around said guides and connected to opposite sides of said iron, means for rotating said drum in either direction, whereby to move the iron in either direction on said track, and means for automatically reversing the direction of rotation of the drum.

In a device of the class described comprising a table, a drum, a track, an iron mounted on said track, guides adjacent the ends of said table, a flexible cable having its intermediate portion wound around said drum, the ends being passed around said guides, and connected to opposite sides of said iron, means for rotating said drum in either direction, whereby to move the iron in either direction on said track, and trips operable by movement of the iron automatically reversing the direction of rotation drum.

5. In a device of the class described comprising a table, a drum, an ironmovable on the table top, guides adjacent the ends of said table, a flexible cable having its intermediate portion wound around said drum, the ends being passed around said guides and connected to the opposite sides of said iron, means for rotating said drum to move the iron, a reverse gear for changing the direction of rotation of said drum, a pair of trip levers for actuating said reverse gear, and stops carried by the cable for actuating said trip levers, whereby the iron is automatically reciprocated.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cent:

6. In a device means for rotating said drum, a reverse gear connected to said drum, and means for manually operating said reverse gear to change the direction of rotation of said drum to reciprocate said iron.

In a device of the class described comprising a table, a driven shaft, a sleeve slidably keyed thereto, a pair of spaced apart gears on said sleeve, a drum, the axis of which extends at right angles to said driven shaft, an additionalgear connected to said drum and adapted to coact with either one of the first mentioned gears, an iron, a flexible cable connecting the iron with said drum, means for shifting either one of the first mentioned gears into coaction with the additional gear, whereby to reciprocate said iron, andmeans for holding either of said movable gears in operative position with the additional gear.

8. In a device of the class described comprising a table, a driven shaft, a sleeve slidably keyed thereto, a pair of spaced apart gears on said sleeve, a drum, the axis of which extends at right angles to said driven shaft, an additional gear connected to said drum and adapted to coact with either one of the first mentioned gears, a pair of trip levers, connecting rods between the levers and the slidable sleeve, a notched bar, a spring pressed detent for coaction with the notches in said bar, whereby the gears are held in operative engagement, an iron, stops movable with the iron to operate said trip levers, and means for rotating said shaft.

9. In a device of the class described comprising a table, a driven shaft, a sleeve slidably keyed thereto, a pair of spaced apart gears on said sleeve, a drum, the axis of which extends at right angles to said driven shaft, an additional gear connected to said drum and adapted to coact with either one of the first mentioned gears, a bracket depending from the table top, an operating lever pivoted intermediate its ends to said bracket, and adapted to shift the slidable sleeve, a laterally shiftable foot pedal connected to said lever for manually shifting said slidable sleeve, an iron connected with said drum and adapted to be reciprocated,

and means for rotating said shaft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BERT L. HUBBELL. Witnesses:

J. J. KING, R. T. KING.

each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0." 

